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Gideon Falls
Gideon Falls, Vol. 6: La Fine
Jeff Lemire e Andrea Sorrentino concludono la saga di Gideon Falls con un maxi-episodio unico che risponde a domande, decide il destino dei protagonisti e spiega la fisica dei mondi collegati di questa saga. Strepitoso, mozzafiato. In appendice, la sceneggiatura dell’episodio di Jeff e un walk through di Andrea tra le soluzioni più ingegnose di questi sei incredibili volumi.
120 pages, Hardcover
First published April 28, 2021
26 people are currently reading
535 people want to read
About the author
Jeff Lemire
1,393 books3,874 followersLibrarian note:
There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name
Jeff Lemire is a New York Times bestselling and award winning author, and creator of the acclaimed graphic novels Sweet Tooth, Essex County, The Underwater Welder, Trillium, Plutona, Black Hammer, Descender, Royal City, and Gideon Falls. His upcoming projects include a host of series and original graphic novels, including the fantasy series Ascender with Dustin Nguyen.
There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name
Jeff Lemire is a New York Times bestselling and award winning author, and creator of the acclaimed graphic novels Sweet Tooth, Essex County, The Underwater Welder, Trillium, Plutona, Black Hammer, Descender, Royal City, and Gideon Falls. His upcoming projects include a host of series and original graphic novels, including the fantasy series Ascender with Dustin Nguyen.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 318 reviews
September 7, 2021
The art was fantastic and the layouts were great.
Truly, those crazy panels were just the best thing about this entire series.
The End concluded much like I kind of figured it would. None of it really made sense. All of the time travel with fractured multiple realities stuff that happened was meant to keep the reader off-balance enough so they wouldn't notice that nothing was ever explained.
And that's fine. I pretty much knew what I was getting into by the third volume.
The folks who like these sort of trippy endings are absolutely going to love Gideon Falls and the folks who don't are at least probably going to appreciate the incredible visuals.
Truly, those crazy panels were just the best thing about this entire series.
The End concluded much like I kind of figured it would. None of it really made sense. All of the time travel with fractured multiple realities stuff that happened was meant to keep the reader off-balance enough so they wouldn't notice that nothing was ever explained.
And that's fine. I pretty much knew what I was getting into by the third volume.
The folks who like these sort of trippy endings are absolutely going to love Gideon Falls and the folks who don't are at least probably going to appreciate the incredible visuals.
March 22, 2021
I have a feeling people are calling this series 'mind-bending', when they really mean 'faintly confusing'. It's a story built up out of horror and sci-fi clichés, that bigly whiffs the ending, and sacrifices characterisation to plot.
So we have cosmic horror that doesn't work because it's not actually cosmic horror, just smells like it a bit. The first couple of times you see the grinning man (and I'm sticking to that name, it's a million times better than the 'laughing man' or 'smiling man') it is genuinely unnerving. But then he/it starts popping up everywhere, and even worse - he/it starts speaking. And he sounds like a run of the mill psychopath.
Poof! Cosmic horror: gone. The grinning man shouldn't give a shit about humans, he/it should plough right through us on his/its unknowable way. Cosmic horror works on the idea that we are insignificant, we can't begin to understand the thing that's coming for us. The grinning man is a provincial horror, at best.
Instead we get a monster that wants to inhabit one of the main characters, because he's Special. Never really explained why, it's there because that's what happens in stories. We need a The One.
The Five Travellers. Why five? Because Pentoculus. Because that's what happens in stories. It just is.
A priest character who does a thing because he believes in it, and he's a priest, they believe things for s living. It also helps the story along and feels like a character moment - cheap and corny, but still.
A priest character who suddenly can't be hurt by the provincial horror, because he doesn't believe in the provincial horror. He's a priest, it works! It is never mentioned again, never used again.
The One character decides to sacrifice himself, because that's what characters do in stories, and the rest joins him, because they're the Five Travellers, and there's five of them five five FIVE
Gideon Falls is literally the centre of the universe. The walls of reality are thin there or something, it is never really explained, it just is. Because the series is called Gideon Falls, is my guess.
The fact that so many people say 'it could've only ended like this' means the ending is another cliché, and means it could've ended in many other and better ways.
The art is great. I liked it. And Jeff Lemire is generally a really good writer. I've seen more than one person mention they don't like Lemire's sci-fi writing, so maybe that's his weak spot. I will have to investigate further.
1.FIVE stars
So we have cosmic horror that doesn't work because it's not actually cosmic horror, just smells like it a bit. The first couple of times you see the grinning man (and I'm sticking to that name, it's a million times better than the 'laughing man' or 'smiling man') it is genuinely unnerving. But then he/it starts popping up everywhere, and even worse - he/it starts speaking. And he sounds like a run of the mill psychopath.
Poof! Cosmic horror: gone. The grinning man shouldn't give a shit about humans, he/it should plough right through us on his/its unknowable way. Cosmic horror works on the idea that we are insignificant, we can't begin to understand the thing that's coming for us. The grinning man is a provincial horror, at best.
Instead we get a monster that wants to inhabit one of the main characters, because he's Special. Never really explained why, it's there because that's what happens in stories. We need a The One.
The Five Travellers. Why five? Because Pentoculus. Because that's what happens in stories. It just is.
A priest character who does a thing because he believes in it, and he's a priest, they believe things for s living. It also helps the story along and feels like a character moment - cheap and corny, but still.
A priest character who suddenly can't be hurt by the provincial horror, because he doesn't believe in the provincial horror. He's a priest, it works! It is never mentioned again, never used again.
The One character decides to sacrifice himself, because that's what characters do in stories, and the rest joins him, because they're the Five Travellers, and there's five of them five five FIVE
Gideon Falls is literally the centre of the universe. The walls of reality are thin there or something, it is never really explained, it just is. Because the series is called Gideon Falls, is my guess.
The fact that so many people say 'it could've only ended like this' means the ending is another cliché, and means it could've ended in many other and better ways.
The art is great. I liked it. And Jeff Lemire is generally a really good writer. I've seen more than one person mention they don't like Lemire's sci-fi writing, so maybe that's his weak spot. I will have to investigate further.
1.FIVE stars
July 4, 2021
"I have no idea what is going on here"--one character in Gideon Falls
I gave four stars to each of the previous volumes of Gideon Falls primarily because of the stunning, award-winning artwork from Andrea Sorrentino, and let's just say he pulls out all the stops to earn all the stars in this final volume. It's breath-taking in its conception and execution, all the visual world-making.
My problem here is that I had a hard time separating my experience of this tale from the very similar and similarly disappointing ending of Robert Kirkman and Paul Azaceta's Outcast. In both of these series characters in the final volume echo my protest that they do not know what is going on, and they never truly resolve these questions for themselves or me. Oh, sure, in the war between goodness and evil (spoiler alert) goodness wins, you expect that, this is the horror genre, and as Neil Gaiman says, the point of horror is not to establish that monsters exist but that monsters can be defeated, so (brushes off the dirt and blood from my hands): Done. But there's lots of confusion, unanswered questions.
The story follows Father Fred Wilfred, a very troubled priest, and Norton Sinclair, a man who seems crazy. There's been a series of murders in Gideon Falls, and some people think Norton is the culprit. Norton has an obsessive focus on a black barn, which he feels compelled to rebuild (cf. Field of Dreams "if you build it, they will come;" Close Encounters--Roy building Devil's Tower in his living room) from the scraps of wood he finds in the town garbage dump. A psychiatrist has no patience for this nonsense, and doesn't believe in Hell, until she, too, begins to get strange visions, and agrees to help him. Even after he gets locked up in the psych ward in a strait jacket.
I guess these three main characters come to life pretty well in the series, but they are overall kind of lost in the action, which increasingly involves a creepy smiling man (a little like IT, right) and visits to The Other Side. Outcast also has a barn in it and both stories clearly illustrate this folksy rural vibe and that we have to stick together to defeat Evil. Both end with nods to the importance of Christian faith in the process of acknowledging that evil/the demonic is real and needs to be defeated.
But the endings of both Outcast and Gideon Falls are similarly disappointing, and it's like they ran out of ideas. The dialogue isn't great, either. But oh, how Sorrentino wows us with his depictions of what we know from Stranger Things is the "Upside Down," the parallel world or multiversal space where Flowers of Evil bloom. And then Sorrentino literally has us read his pages upside down for awhile! The appendices from Sorrentino are a clinic on horror art, with explanations of the inner workings of Gideon Falls: The Multiverse Map, The Barn, the Center of the Universe (which is also small-town rural Gideon Falls), and descriptions of all the infinite cubes and spirals we see throughout the series. All the fragmentation of identity and world going on. Amazing work that almost makes me award this final volume four or more stars. But Lemire bows to Sorrentino, I guess, and lets him show us the world rather than surprise us himself with something new. It's still a series that is worth your while experiencing.
I gave four stars to each of the previous volumes of Gideon Falls primarily because of the stunning, award-winning artwork from Andrea Sorrentino, and let's just say he pulls out all the stops to earn all the stars in this final volume. It's breath-taking in its conception and execution, all the visual world-making.
My problem here is that I had a hard time separating my experience of this tale from the very similar and similarly disappointing ending of Robert Kirkman and Paul Azaceta's Outcast. In both of these series characters in the final volume echo my protest that they do not know what is going on, and they never truly resolve these questions for themselves or me. Oh, sure, in the war between goodness and evil (spoiler alert) goodness wins, you expect that, this is the horror genre, and as Neil Gaiman says, the point of horror is not to establish that monsters exist but that monsters can be defeated, so (brushes off the dirt and blood from my hands): Done. But there's lots of confusion, unanswered questions.
The story follows Father Fred Wilfred, a very troubled priest, and Norton Sinclair, a man who seems crazy. There's been a series of murders in Gideon Falls, and some people think Norton is the culprit. Norton has an obsessive focus on a black barn, which he feels compelled to rebuild (cf. Field of Dreams "if you build it, they will come;" Close Encounters--Roy building Devil's Tower in his living room) from the scraps of wood he finds in the town garbage dump. A psychiatrist has no patience for this nonsense, and doesn't believe in Hell, until she, too, begins to get strange visions, and agrees to help him. Even after he gets locked up in the psych ward in a strait jacket.
I guess these three main characters come to life pretty well in the series, but they are overall kind of lost in the action, which increasingly involves a creepy smiling man (a little like IT, right) and visits to The Other Side. Outcast also has a barn in it and both stories clearly illustrate this folksy rural vibe and that we have to stick together to defeat Evil. Both end with nods to the importance of Christian faith in the process of acknowledging that evil/the demonic is real and needs to be defeated.
But the endings of both Outcast and Gideon Falls are similarly disappointing, and it's like they ran out of ideas. The dialogue isn't great, either. But oh, how Sorrentino wows us with his depictions of what we know from Stranger Things is the "Upside Down," the parallel world or multiversal space where Flowers of Evil bloom. And then Sorrentino literally has us read his pages upside down for awhile! The appendices from Sorrentino are a clinic on horror art, with explanations of the inner workings of Gideon Falls: The Multiverse Map, The Barn, the Center of the Universe (which is also small-town rural Gideon Falls), and descriptions of all the infinite cubes and spirals we see throughout the series. All the fragmentation of identity and world going on. Amazing work that almost makes me award this final volume four or more stars. But Lemire bows to Sorrentino, I guess, and lets him show us the world rather than surprise us himself with something new. It's still a series that is worth your while experiencing.
January 24, 2022
Gideon Falls fizzles out to its end in its over-sized, single issue finale. Lemire gives us an ending even if it doesn't feel very satisfying. None of the why is filled in. It kind of feels like they just got bored with Gideon Falls and slapped an ending together to wrap everything up quickly.
Even the art wasn't as great as it could have been. Yes, Sorrentino is still a great artist. But the story is filled with two page spreads with very little content in them and even some completely blank pages. (Yeah, yeah, I get what you are going to say they were going for. It still doesn't make me happy when at least 10 pages out of 80 were just fluff to justify the page count.)
There's also about 30 pages of extras to get this to a 112 page count. It's your standard script pages and some of Sorrentino's designs. Nothing earth shattering.
Even the art wasn't as great as it could have been. Yes, Sorrentino is still a great artist. But the story is filled with two page spreads with very little content in them and even some completely blank pages. (Yeah, yeah, I get what you are going to say they were going for. It still doesn't make me happy when at least 10 pages out of 80 were just fluff to justify the page count.)
There's also about 30 pages of extras to get this to a 112 page count. It's your standard script pages and some of Sorrentino's designs. Nothing earth shattering.
January 31, 2021
Not exactly a perfect ending but kind of expected all things considered. It feels a bit rushed up- despite this oversized last issue, particularly the very last pages. As for the last panel... let’s say that’s the usual...
Thing is, as much as I liked the creepy feel of the plot-something I rarely experience in comics, that was refreshing- I never really felt anything for any of the characters, except maybe father Fred who was the only one a bit fleshed up.
It had an impact in this final issue where I was never scared for them which greatly diminished the tension. But the story wasn’t really about the characters, was it?
No more Mr Killjoy here. I liked the run; it was dark, unhealthy, frightening even and totally enhanced by the art team: Andrea Sorrentino (whose style I don’t particularly like but which perfectly suited the plot) with his crazy designs and storytelling and master Dave Stewart with his sick colors.
Let’s say I liked the journey better than the destination but that was a really nice ride.
Thing is, as much as I liked the creepy feel of the plot-something I rarely experience in comics, that was refreshing- I never really felt anything for any of the characters, except maybe father Fred who was the only one a bit fleshed up.
It had an impact in this final issue where I was never scared for them which greatly diminished the tension. But the story wasn’t really about the characters, was it?
No more Mr Killjoy here. I liked the run; it was dark, unhealthy, frightening even and totally enhanced by the art team: Andrea Sorrentino (whose style I don’t particularly like but which perfectly suited the plot) with his crazy designs and storytelling and master Dave Stewart with his sick colors.
Let’s say I liked the journey better than the destination but that was a really nice ride.
October 20, 2025
2025: Pretty much agree. I do love the fact "it was smiling man the whole time" twist but overall it is a bit quickly done, and wrapped up way too quick. But the series still a blast.
2021 Review: A okay ending to a otherwise great, weird, and fucked up series.
This is only about 80 pages of story. You have all the protagonists coming to face this demon/monster. A lot of trippy moments here, some really cool ways to do the art as well. I enjoyed the look into family and helping one another. The main "Villain' was easily finished off though and the zinger ending didn't do TOO much for me.
But still it was entertaining and looked great. The series as a whole was great, this volume though was the weakest. A 3 out of 5.
2021 Review: A okay ending to a otherwise great, weird, and fucked up series.
This is only about 80 pages of story. You have all the protagonists coming to face this demon/monster. A lot of trippy moments here, some really cool ways to do the art as well. I enjoyed the look into family and helping one another. The main "Villain' was easily finished off though and the zinger ending didn't do TOO much for me.
But still it was entertaining and looked great. The series as a whole was great, this volume though was the weakest. A 3 out of 5.
August 23, 2025
I can’t say anything about Volume 6 of Gideon Falls, simply titled “The End”, because it is, literally, the end of the series and anything I say will be a spoiler.
I will say that Jeff Lemire and Andrea Sorrentino have created an incredible graphic novel series in which ideas and imagery have never collaborated so well. This is an unforgettable and excellent series that fans will be reading and re-reading for decades to come.
I will also be surprised if this doesn’t get picked up to be turned into a TV show. Seriously, if done well, it could potentially be bigger than “Lost” or “Game of Thrones”.
I loved it.
I will say that Jeff Lemire and Andrea Sorrentino have created an incredible graphic novel series in which ideas and imagery have never collaborated so well. This is an unforgettable and excellent series that fans will be reading and re-reading for decades to come.
I will also be surprised if this doesn’t get picked up to be turned into a TV show. Seriously, if done well, it could potentially be bigger than “Lost” or “Game of Thrones”.
I loved it.
December 23, 2020
This might actually be the worst way to end this story across all multiverses and timelines. It's just an assortment of awful tropes and cliche lines that mars Sorrentino's beautiful art. God this series went downhill faster than a racecar.
December 24, 2020
Multiversal shenanigans come to a conclusion as Jeff Lemire and Andrea Sorrentino pull out all the stops for this final 80 page conclusion.
The ending's about as satisfying as you could expect; there's a big confrontation with the Laughing Man, the power of love and friendship comes into play, and a final panel teaser that shows that nothing truly ends in the world of Gideon Falls, all depicted with utterly mind-bending visuals. I wasn't a huge fan of having to turn the book upside down all the time, but I have to admit that it works in terms of the storyline.
Gideon Falls' ending announcement made me wonder if it wasn't a little premature, but having now read it, I get why it had to end here - there was never really any other way it could end.
The ending's about as satisfying as you could expect; there's a big confrontation with the Laughing Man, the power of love and friendship comes into play, and a final panel teaser that shows that nothing truly ends in the world of Gideon Falls, all depicted with utterly mind-bending visuals. I wasn't a huge fan of having to turn the book upside down all the time, but I have to admit that it works in terms of the storyline.
Gideon Falls' ending announcement made me wonder if it wasn't a little premature, but having now read it, I get why it had to end here - there was never really any other way it could end.
June 6, 2021
This finale of the Gideon Falls series will frustrate many, but by this point, everyone should know what to expect: a lot of multiple reality hopping, creepy insects and smiling men, mindblowing page layouts, and plenty of mind-fucking. This final chapter takes all of that and multiplies it by 10. Take that as you will. It didn't always succeed in everything but I hope this series is ultimately remembered as the fearless, creative, chilling piece of art that it is.
January 21, 2021
Gideon Falls ends exactly as I expected it would, and that’s mostly a good thing, I think. I’m not satisfied, not really. But this series has always been more about frustrating and confounding the audience than satisfying them, so in that respect, its conclusion is appropriate.
Like I said in my review of Volume 5, I think the generally shallow character work of the series really steps into prominence here. When the plot is flying by with terrifying twists and turns, it’s easier to look past the thin characters and just enjoy the ride. But when the series is coming to its end, you need to have some investment in the characters, and I just didn’t. I like the cast well enough, but not to the degree that I was overly concerned about how they ended up, which dulled my impression of the finale’s otherwise impressive antics.
Lemire’s plot and Sorrentino’s signature artwork play with expectation and perspective in some riveting ways and tie the series up with a fitting sense of cyclical evolution and resolution. I like how trippy it is, I respect how obtuse the final pages are, and as unsettled as I am by the implication of the concluding panels, they feel right for the series. I imagine Lemire’s story will work better as a complete whole, instead of the segmented nature of reading it as individual issues or volumes. I wish this final issue had been longer or encompassed a volume all its own because I very much wanted to be enthralled with it, and it almost, but not quite, got me there. I’ll definitely be picking up the inevitable Deluxe Edition hardcover(s) they put out, as I’m interested to see if the ending will land better for me once read front-to-back.
Sorrentino’s work remains excellent, as you can imagine, and I will always be in love with the way he so thoroughly subverts and exemplifies the comic book medium with his art. He breaks in and out of his frames and does things with paneling that bring M.C. Escher to mind in the best way. It’s wild, exciting stuff that Stewart’s stark coloring and Wands’ spectacular lettering elevate to even higher levels. If Gideon Falls leaves behind a legacy, it’s going to be a result of the artwork the team consistently put together.
This isn’t a perfect ending, but it’s a good one. It left me feeling a bit hollow, but again, maybe that’s the intent. Like most ambitious, mind-bending horror, it doesn’t stick the landing, but (most) of the journey getting there was worth it.
Like I said in my review of Volume 5, I think the generally shallow character work of the series really steps into prominence here. When the plot is flying by with terrifying twists and turns, it’s easier to look past the thin characters and just enjoy the ride. But when the series is coming to its end, you need to have some investment in the characters, and I just didn’t. I like the cast well enough, but not to the degree that I was overly concerned about how they ended up, which dulled my impression of the finale’s otherwise impressive antics.
Lemire’s plot and Sorrentino’s signature artwork play with expectation and perspective in some riveting ways and tie the series up with a fitting sense of cyclical evolution and resolution. I like how trippy it is, I respect how obtuse the final pages are, and as unsettled as I am by the implication of the concluding panels, they feel right for the series. I imagine Lemire’s story will work better as a complete whole, instead of the segmented nature of reading it as individual issues or volumes. I wish this final issue had been longer or encompassed a volume all its own because I very much wanted to be enthralled with it, and it almost, but not quite, got me there. I’ll definitely be picking up the inevitable Deluxe Edition hardcover(s) they put out, as I’m interested to see if the ending will land better for me once read front-to-back.
Sorrentino’s work remains excellent, as you can imagine, and I will always be in love with the way he so thoroughly subverts and exemplifies the comic book medium with his art. He breaks in and out of his frames and does things with paneling that bring M.C. Escher to mind in the best way. It’s wild, exciting stuff that Stewart’s stark coloring and Wands’ spectacular lettering elevate to even higher levels. If Gideon Falls leaves behind a legacy, it’s going to be a result of the artwork the team consistently put together.
This isn’t a perfect ending, but it’s a good one. It left me feeling a bit hollow, but again, maybe that’s the intent. Like most ambitious, mind-bending horror, it doesn’t stick the landing, but (most) of the journey getting there was worth it.
May 4, 2021
Amazing artwork - absolutely enjoyed this series.
May 6, 2023
4.5*
January 8, 2022
Як все класно починалось і як лажово завершилось…
Таке враження, наче автор з кожною серією втомлювався від цієї історії і намагався похапцем її завершити, щоб поставити крапку. Прикро!
Таке враження, наче автор з кожною серією втомлювався від цієї історії і намагався похапцем її завершити, щоб поставити крапку. Прикро!
May 29, 2021
(Whole series review)
Gideon Falls had one of the strongest starts to an Image series of the last few years. Lemire built links gradually across his two parallel horror stories - a psychiatric patient and his therapist, and a small-town priest and the local sheriff - as questions (and bodies) piled up, and the first volume ended with a delightfully inexplicable surprise.
None of that sense of mystery, or even horror, remains at the end. The book's distinct original flavours - rural slasher horror and urban paranoia - have become not just muddled, but overtaken with a bunch of other locations and moods, none of them as interesting or well realised. (I shared the priest's horror at his arrival in a bog-standard cyberpunk dystopia, though for rather different reasons.) The antagonists have lost their mystique, resolving into your usual jobbing Outer God and a legion of zombies: more opportunities for Lemire to trot out familiar scenes and ideas. Having established that our heroes are Chosen Ones, they spend the final episode doing what Chosen Ones do, barely recognisable as the characters we've known. And while the hand of an editor is rarely visible on a hit Image book, one really should have had a word about the final panel...
It's all a bit of a shame, particularly because the one element of Gideon Falls that remains consistently fine is Andrea Sorrentino's art and design. His psychedelic double page spreads, Escher meets prog rock meets photoshop, are one of the most bravura displays of digital comic storytelling I've seen, and his willingness to whack on the FX is ideal for a story of altered perceptions and shifting realities. All the while though his people look like people - expressive, natural people with a blessed variety of ages and body types. As late as volume 5 he's coming up with new tricks - an interesting way to use sound effect lettering to creepy effect - though the final episode is heavier on the straightforward action which isn't his strongest suit.
Still, it's Sorrentino who kept me reading after the halfway mark of Gideon Falls, even after it was obvious the story had flubbed its initial promise. A lovely series visually, but in the end yet another mid-length title that can't live up to its set-up.
Gideon Falls had one of the strongest starts to an Image series of the last few years. Lemire built links gradually across his two parallel horror stories - a psychiatric patient and his therapist, and a small-town priest and the local sheriff - as questions (and bodies) piled up, and the first volume ended with a delightfully inexplicable surprise.
None of that sense of mystery, or even horror, remains at the end. The book's distinct original flavours - rural slasher horror and urban paranoia - have become not just muddled, but overtaken with a bunch of other locations and moods, none of them as interesting or well realised. (I shared the priest's horror at his arrival in a bog-standard cyberpunk dystopia, though for rather different reasons.) The antagonists have lost their mystique, resolving into your usual jobbing Outer God and a legion of zombies: more opportunities for Lemire to trot out familiar scenes and ideas. Having established that our heroes are Chosen Ones, they spend the final episode doing what Chosen Ones do, barely recognisable as the characters we've known. And while the hand of an editor is rarely visible on a hit Image book, one really should have had a word about the final panel...
It's all a bit of a shame, particularly because the one element of Gideon Falls that remains consistently fine is Andrea Sorrentino's art and design. His psychedelic double page spreads, Escher meets prog rock meets photoshop, are one of the most bravura displays of digital comic storytelling I've seen, and his willingness to whack on the FX is ideal for a story of altered perceptions and shifting realities. All the while though his people look like people - expressive, natural people with a blessed variety of ages and body types. As late as volume 5 he's coming up with new tricks - an interesting way to use sound effect lettering to creepy effect - though the final episode is heavier on the straightforward action which isn't his strongest suit.
Still, it's Sorrentino who kept me reading after the halfway mark of Gideon Falls, even after it was obvious the story had flubbed its initial promise. A lovely series visually, but in the end yet another mid-length title that can't live up to its set-up.
May 31, 2022
خب این کمیک هم به اتمام رسوندم. سوای ایده غیر اورجینالش که تلفیقی از مجموعه برج تاریک و سریال دارک و استرنجر ثینگز و کتاب ایت بود، طراحی ها و مهم تر از اون پنلینگ شاهکاری داشت که تمام این ها به لطف طراح زبردست حوزه کمیک یعنی سورنتینو رقم خورده بود. پیچیدگی های داستان و جنبه معماییش هم اون رو به یکی از پر تعلیق ترین های این حوزه تبدیل می کرد. ژانر اثر هم مثل برج تاریک تعریف دقیقی نداره به طوری که یک لحظه وحشت هست، یک لحظه فانتزی، یک لحظه علمی تخیلی و معمایی و وسترن و ... که مخاطب رو گیج تر از قبل میکنه. اما در این جلد به خیلی از سوالات پاسخ داده نمیشه که البته با توجه به حجم پیچیدگی داستان و مسائلی که مطرح می کرد هم واقعا در این جلد امکان جمع کردنش نبود.
مهم ترین مشکل این کمیک اما در شخصیت پردازی هاش خلاصه میشه. ما با پنج نقش اصلی طرف هستیم که نه به قدر کافی از درونیاتشون اطلاع پیدا می کنیم نه از گذشته شون به جز یک سری اشاره جزئی با خبر میشیم بنابراین اگر کسی داستان های شخصیت محور رو ترجیح میده این کمیک چندان مناسبش نیست. در مورد جهان سازی هم خیلی از قواعد و قوانین پیرامون سفر در زمان و جهان های موازی توضیح داده نمیشه و نویسنده از مخاطب این توقع رو داره که مثل کارکترها که در طول داستان از ابتدا تا انتها نمیدونن دقیقا چه خبره سر در گم باقی بمونن. پنل آخر داستان هم یکی از کلیشه ای ترین تروپ های ژانر وحشت بود
در مجموع اگر کسی در داستان به دنبال روشن شدن بیشتر مسائل اصلی یا شخصیت پردازی های قوی یا حداقل نسبتا خوب می گرده این کمیک نمیتونه انتظاراتش رو برآورده کنه، اما اگر با ایده غیر اورجینال و پیچش های داستانی مختلف حال میکنه و داستانی که از اول تا آخر گنگ میمونه دوست داره احتمالا بپسنده. کما اینکه طراحی ها و پنلینگ های قوی کار به جذابیت های بصری اون کمک بسزایی میکنه تا حواس مخاطب رو از مشکلات اصلی داستان پرت بکنه. پس اگر بخوام این کل این رو در یک جمله خلاصه و جمع بندی بکنم چیزی مثل این میشه : کمیکی غیر اورجینال ولی جالب توجه با پردازشی نه چندان قوی و پایانی گنگ که ارزش خوندن رو داره ولی شاهکار نیست
مهم ترین مشکل این کمیک اما در شخصیت پردازی هاش خلاصه میشه. ما با پنج نقش اصلی طرف هستیم که نه به قدر کافی از درونیاتشون اطلاع پیدا می کنیم نه از گذشته شون به جز یک سری اشاره جزئی با خبر میشیم بنابراین اگر کسی داستان های شخصیت محور رو ترجیح میده این کمیک چندان مناسبش نیست. در مورد جهان سازی هم خیلی از قواعد و قوانین پیرامون سفر در زمان و جهان های موازی توضیح داده نمیشه و نویسنده از مخاطب این توقع رو داره که مثل کارکترها که در طول داستان از ابتدا تا انتها نمیدونن دقیقا چه خبره سر در گم باقی بمونن. پنل آخر داستان هم یکی از کلیشه ای ترین تروپ های ژانر وحشت بود
در مجموع اگر کسی در داستان به دنبال روشن شدن بیشتر مسائل اصلی یا شخصیت پردازی های قوی یا حداقل نسبتا خوب می گرده این کمیک نمیتونه انتظاراتش رو برآورده کنه، اما اگر با ایده غیر اورجینال و پیچش های داستانی مختلف حال میکنه و داستانی که از اول تا آخر گنگ میمونه دوست داره احتمالا بپسنده. کما اینکه طراحی ها و پنلینگ های قوی کار به جذابیت های بصری اون کمک بسزایی میکنه تا حواس مخاطب رو از مشکلات اصلی داستان پرت بکنه. پس اگر بخوام این کل این رو در یک جمله خلاصه و جمع بندی بکنم چیزی مثل این میشه : کمیکی غیر اورجینال ولی جالب توجه با پردازشی نه چندان قوی و پایانی گنگ که ارزش خوندن رو داره ولی شاهکار نیست
May 16, 2021
It all leads up to this. But why?
This final volume feels remarkably bereft of action and resolution for the story. Some of it may be the formatting - it's really hard to read upside-down text on a digital reader, so the climax required more effort than normal to read, and it doesn't really live up to the extra requirements. Our five protagonists tell each other what to do because of time travel shenanigans on top of the infinite universes, and the Black Barn plays a major role. But ultimately, the solution feels too easy, and the epilogue leaves things too open.
Ultimately, I think this series didn't live up to the premise of its earlier volumes, and skated to a conclusion solely on the quality of its admittedly fascinating art. But I expected a more cohesive and resonant story from Lemire; he's done so much better in so many other situations, and this really ends up as a whimper. I'm not sure I would even recommend the series - just find some of the beautiful panels and spreads online and enjoy them without context - it doesn't add that much to them.
This final volume feels remarkably bereft of action and resolution for the story. Some of it may be the formatting - it's really hard to read upside-down text on a digital reader, so the climax required more effort than normal to read, and it doesn't really live up to the extra requirements. Our five protagonists tell each other what to do because of time travel shenanigans on top of the infinite universes, and the Black Barn plays a major role. But ultimately, the solution feels too easy, and the epilogue leaves things too open.
Ultimately, I think this series didn't live up to the premise of its earlier volumes, and skated to a conclusion solely on the quality of its admittedly fascinating art. But I expected a more cohesive and resonant story from Lemire; he's done so much better in so many other situations, and this really ends up as a whimper. I'm not sure I would even recommend the series - just find some of the beautiful panels and spreads online and enjoy them without context - it doesn't add that much to them.
April 11, 2021
This is the end and we learn what happens after the crisis event when everything seems to be destroyed and so like when all the five ploughmen gather after going through many crisis, we see what needs to happen in order to stop this multiversal-destroying demon and we have Danny make the boldest choice along with them and then a reboot, new reality? memories forgotten but has the demon had its way with Danny? What does the end panel mean? It was a cryptic and a bit disappointing ending but then again it was predictable. Not the worst end but not the greatest either and some panels were super confusing, overall an okayish series which mixes so many things but ends up losing its way in the middle with revelations but the character and the villain was unique. Enjoyed it regardless!
May 16, 2021
The final volume in this psychedelic series is an oversized issue that goes full circle to confront the threat head-on while all characters embrace their ultimatum. While the artwork continues the stellar display of Jeff Lemire's imagination, it is the story's dull exit that makes for an unmemorable finale that offers nothing sufficiently satisfying to take home.
Yours truly,
Lashaan | Blogger and Book Reviewer
Official blog: https://bookidote.com/
Yours truly,
Lashaan | Blogger and Book Reviewer
Official blog: https://bookidote.com/
July 12, 2021
I love Jeff Lemire.
His writing is unexpectedly real.
Where many writers fail to portray a character’s depth and personality, Lemire is able create characters that readers will empathize with while reading, regardless if they will like the characters or not.
Good, bad or indifferent.
The plots of Lemire are usually multilayered, which makes putting down the book after reading a usually easy experience because there’s always something to think about… something to ponder and expand upon in the worlds he creates.
In Gideon Falls, I was immediately captivated by the storyline and the artwork that works perfectly with Lemire’s writing.
After 5 volumes there was plenty to think about what could happen next in this multiverse.
Volume 6… was the last thing I expected.
To me, it seemed an easy Cthulhuian way out.
Story ends.
Only your imagination is left to fill in the gaps.
The end.
His writing is unexpectedly real.
Where many writers fail to portray a character’s depth and personality, Lemire is able create characters that readers will empathize with while reading, regardless if they will like the characters or not.
Good, bad or indifferent.
The plots of Lemire are usually multilayered, which makes putting down the book after reading a usually easy experience because there’s always something to think about… something to ponder and expand upon in the worlds he creates.
In Gideon Falls, I was immediately captivated by the storyline and the artwork that works perfectly with Lemire’s writing.
After 5 volumes there was plenty to think about what could happen next in this multiverse.
Volume 6… was the last thing I expected.
To me, it seemed an easy Cthulhuian way out.
Story ends.
Only your imagination is left to fill in the gaps.
The end.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 28, 2022
(ocena za ceo serijal)
Spektakularni crteži, sjajan početak priče, i kriminalan pad u poslednjih nekoliko brojeva. Rupa u koju su se sami ukopali, te stvarno greota.
3
Spektakularni crteži, sjajan početak priče, i kriminalan pad u poslednjih nekoliko brojeva. Rupa u koju su se sami ukopali, te stvarno greota.
3
November 11, 2021
Ehhhh idk man.
I kind of had a feeling this was how the story was going to end but I also felt this whole thing was more confusing than it needed to be. Also didn't really care for the meta-ness of falling out of comic book pages and all the KRITCH KRITCH KRITCH.
And don't get me started on how incredibly annoying it is to read pages upside down on an iPad - yes, I realize I can lock rotation but then I have to unlock for the horizontal pages (some of those were also upside down!) or try to read the tiny text not in full screen ... just unnecessarily irritating.
I'm sure there are people that loved this series but I just ... didn't. I've read a lot of Lemire and I've found that he's very hit-or-miss for me, so if you normally enjoy his stuff you'll probably like this too. I do recommend reading this in trades so it's less confusing. I had to reread issues if it had been a while since I'd read the previous ones so I imagine it would make more sense read in a collection instead of as it was released.
Not a complete waste of time for me and the image of the smiling man is one I won't forget soon but I hope his next series isn't quite so ... this, lol.
Individual issue reviews: #27
Total review score: 2
I don't know what the bonus material is since I read this as the single issue, but I doubt it'd change my rating.
I kind of had a feeling this was how the story was going to end but I also felt this whole thing was more confusing than it needed to be. Also didn't really care for the meta-ness of falling out of comic book pages and all the KRITCH KRITCH KRITCH.
And don't get me started on how incredibly annoying it is to read pages upside down on an iPad - yes, I realize I can lock rotation but then I have to unlock for the horizontal pages (some of those were also upside down!) or try to read the tiny text not in full screen ... just unnecessarily irritating.
I'm sure there are people that loved this series but I just ... didn't. I've read a lot of Lemire and I've found that he's very hit-or-miss for me, so if you normally enjoy his stuff you'll probably like this too. I do recommend reading this in trades so it's less confusing. I had to reread issues if it had been a while since I'd read the previous ones so I imagine it would make more sense read in a collection instead of as it was released.
Not a complete waste of time for me and the image of the smiling man is one I won't forget soon but I hope his next series isn't quite so ... this, lol.
Individual issue reviews: #27
Total review score: 2
I don't know what the bonus material is since I read this as the single issue, but I doubt it'd change my rating.
January 17, 2022
L'impressione generale a fine lettura di tutta questa serie è stata un grosso boh!
"Gideon Falls" è uno degli esempi più riusciti di elaborazione reiterata di una specifica idea al solo scopo di mascherare la piattezza assoluta di tutto ciò al suo contorno.
Questo, dopo 6 volumi, ha tre grossi svantaggi:
1: i lettori si annoiano dell'idea in questione (ovvero il multiverso);
2: i lettori si accorgono della magagna;
3: i lettori si sentono presi leggermente in giro dopo 6 volumi da circa 20 euro l'uno.
Peccato, davvero, perché le tavole di Andrea Sorrentino sono delle vere opere d'arte ma Lemire le ha "imbrattate" con una storia senza capo né coda.
Spero che Andrea affidi in futuro le sue matite a sceneggiatori migliori e che Lemire desista al più presto dal suo chiodo fisso per gli universi paralleli, tema che ha già abbondantemente usato nel suo lavoro precedente "Black Hammer".
"Gideon Falls" è uno degli esempi più riusciti di elaborazione reiterata di una specifica idea al solo scopo di mascherare la piattezza assoluta di tutto ciò al suo contorno.
Questo, dopo 6 volumi, ha tre grossi svantaggi:
1: i lettori si annoiano dell'idea in questione (ovvero il multiverso);
2: i lettori si accorgono della magagna;
3: i lettori si sentono presi leggermente in giro dopo 6 volumi da circa 20 euro l'uno.
Peccato, davvero, perché le tavole di Andrea Sorrentino sono delle vere opere d'arte ma Lemire le ha "imbrattate" con una storia senza capo né coda.
Spero che Andrea affidi in futuro le sue matite a sceneggiatori migliori e che Lemire desista al più presto dal suo chiodo fisso per gli universi paralleli, tema che ha già abbondantemente usato nel suo lavoro precedente "Black Hammer".
July 26, 2021
Well it's an ending I guess. While it's overall more coherent than the likes of Lost I'm not entirely sure what the point of all this was, despite it continually seeming like there would be one. It was a wild ride with some revolutionary art, but despite some grand concepts it didn't seem to me that it had that much to say.
June 29, 2021
We went through so much to end it like this?
January 5, 2023
This non-ending is so bad, it makes me reconsider my opinion of Lemire as a storyteller. This was nonsense, and like J.J. Abrams with film and TV, it’s a lot of bombast with pointless distractions. It even has a “twist” ending that makes no difference since I didn’t give a damn for the dozens of pages preceding it.
September 28, 2022
Miniserie intrattenitiva: un horror non troppo pesante che lavora su cliché già visti ma comunque ben orchestrati. Sicuramente non una storia memorabile, non ad ampio respiro vista anche la brevità. Non nascondo però di averla praticamente letta tutta d’un fiato, merito anche delle splendide soluzioni grafiche di Sorrentino.
August 22, 2022
The artist deserves all the stars. The writing, on the other hand…
March 26, 2023
Super je sve ovo
December 30, 2020
This was a bad ending. A string of mostly incoherent moments of bravado from our cast of heroes leading to a wet fart of a multiverse denouement. It was confusing, but not in a way that makes me want to dig in and re-read it. Pretty much since the beginning this series has been overreaching for a deepness it never achieved and a horror element that, in it's finest moments, approached only from a distance. This is one I'm glad to be done keeping up with.
And some confessions, here at the end: I hate the art in this series. It's some MS paint looking shit and I do not like it at all. There are also some really unforgivable photoshop backgrounds and textures throughout the series. The sequences when pages are visible in continuity are lame and not the [Eric-Wareheim-mind-exploding.gif] they're intended to be.
And some confessions, here at the end: I hate the art in this series. It's some MS paint looking shit and I do not like it at all. There are also some really unforgivable photoshop backgrounds and textures throughout the series. The sequences when pages are visible in continuity are lame and not the [Eric-Wareheim-mind-exploding.gif] they're intended to be.
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